This blog is written by and is about a person who many say has a “varied perspective” on life. Who is not typical and one who asks some simple questions which often provoke a bit of thought. The whole of this is inspired by a number of people who seem amazed at with my attitude while facing an interesting challenge. This piece introduces this challenge with subsequent entries being an amalgam of thoughts on varies topics, related and unrelated – depending on your perspective since some think believe our thoughts are a product of who we are and are thereby, related.

First, some background on me. I was born of a blue collar family, not void of its problems, but one which also held a number of good memories. I was the youngest to an older brother and sister. My first memories have us living in a suburban neighborhood where we could walk to school. From there we moved to a more rural area and with it something of isolation. My formative years were spent mostly working on a neighbor’s dairy farm where I acquired a solid work ethic and also gained some stability. With school, I started in a modest sized central school where my graduating class was about 240. From there I moved on to college, eventually getting a Bachelors degree in Animal Science from Cornell University and where I was also recruited into a graduate program focused on bovine lactation physiology. With the death of a very close friend, I left Cornell and moved into truck transportation, first as an over the road driver (owner operator) and then to being a Terminal manager – I did this for about 10 years. In 1990, I met the person who would become my wife and mother of my now nearly grown son who was born in 1991. At the same time I entered graduate school to get my MBA after which I moved into various product management and marketing roles. I’ve settled into what is best referred to as analytical marketing, mostly within the banking sector although I remain involved in a number of other ventures.

It is said that within our lives we have a defining moment or moments; those times when we experience something profound and life altering. For me, I see everyday living as our “moments” and how we react to remarkable events is reflective of the sum of our experience. Perhaps both things are the same, but I think a difference is apparent when you think about it. However one looks at it, mine is borne of 2 events, each of which hold their own prominence but in the end, one of which dominates. In late 2004, the day after Thanksgiving, my marriage came to an end. It was about 9 months later that I was diagnosed with a rather aggressive case of prostate cancer characterized by how one doctor described it as being a “very large” tumor. The same doctor said that given the state of the art, the probability is I would have 5-8 years left. This blog is about thoughts – abstractions, on life and all things that it presents. It is about how I choose, while conceding the disease will likely have the last word, to not let this disease control me, but rather to live as I choose without regard to it. It is also about thoughts that randomly come to mind, whose origins may or not be borne of my situation, but rather are simply the product of a thinking man. I trust those who choose to follow these writings will find them to be both entertaining thought provoking.

Feel free to comment or you may email me at lifeabstractions@gmail.com